Burning Primrose
by LSU Sarah
Summary: Rory Hawthorne has rarely cried in in his life, but then he fell for Primrose.


*.*.*.*.*

_Capitol of Panem_

_7:42 pm_

_Rory Hawthorne POV_

*.*.*.*.*

I sat in the hovercraft, gripping the hand that belonged to the love of my life. I squeezed it tightly, making sure she couldn't get out of my grip, seeing as I had my arm wrapped around her shoulders quite tightly. Prim shuddered and sighed, again reminding me that it was pointless to be doing this; within the next half an hour they would give us the okay signal to go out. The militia: protect the medics. Medics: save the remaining children who survived the blast. I was a part of the militia, signing up to make sure Primrose got back safely. I was tall enough to pass for seventeen, and they didn't ID anyone, which was strange. Many of the young boys – including myself – were perfectly willing to fight against the Capitol, the fear they once had long gone. Ignoring Prim's obvious thoughts, I continued to give her hand a death grip, and eventually I gathered enough courage to look at her; I was terrified I would lose her tonight. I knew Gale was in charge of the bombs, so I knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure we were okay.

But I still felt uneasy.

Prim was staring back at me, and she smiled distantly, looking down at her lap. "What?" I asked her. "Oh, nothing. It's just that we were in this same position when… you know… you kissed me. When Katniss went into the Games. The Quarter Quell, I mean…" she drifted off. Oh, Katniss. She didn't know about us yet… "You mean, like this?" I asked, leaning in and pressing my lips to hers. They were warm and welcoming, sweet like the honey they put on toast back in 13. She laughed into the kiss, and I pulled away, pressing my forehead to hers. She looked at me for a moment before closing her eyes. I stared at her face, all of her features for what seemed like forever. She was perfect, at least to me – I remember Vick talking about how he learned in school that when you really liked somebody, your brain ignored all of their flaws, making them seem perfect. "I love you, Primrose Everdeen," I whispered before I had approved the words. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me. "Well, I do," I said, pulling away. She grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me back, kissing me. I rested my hands on the small of her back, and pulled her onto my lap. We sat there for a while, kissing and what not, before she pulled away and whispered "I love you too, Rory Hawthorne. You'll never know."

I grinned at her – I had never told my girlfriend I loved her. I kept it to myself, only telling Gale how I felt about her, and even then it was vague.

A voice came on over the loudspeaker, calling us by saying in a monotone voice, "District 13 volunteer army, please assemble at hovercraft exits." I buried my head into Prim's neck, kissing the skin softly. I felt her put her head on my shoulder, and I pulled away. "Please be safe Primrose," I said. "I'll find you after, okay?" She nodded, saying "I love you, I love you, please don't get hurt, I love you I love you I love you Rory Hawthorne." I laughed at her, pushing her head up kissing her nose and saying "I love you more." She smiled weakly, and I set her down off of my lap, stood up. I stood in formation with the others, and checked to see that my gun was loaded. Everything was good to go, and I glanced over to the medics, looking for Prim. She was going through her pack, a look of concentration already on her face.

I remembered that from all of those years in District 12; when toddlers were sick and she was creating a remedy, when coal miners came in after having a hard time breathing, when Gale was whipped and she was healing him. I had grown familiar with that face, and I had it memorized, seeing as we grew up together, I practically had her entire being memorized.

The doors opened, and she looked up. She mouthed "Go save the day," to me, and I gave her a thumbs up. We were supposed to station ourselves around the medics, making sure no civilians other than the children who were injured could get in or out.

I ran out, forcing myself to forget about Prim. I was here on a mission, and Primrose was not it. I stopped where I was supposed to, and held back screaming Capitol citizens trying to reach their children. Cries of agony, the smell of burning flesh, blood making the obnoxious blue concrete purple made me want to vomit. Someone punched me in the stomach, and I keeled over momentarily. Pulling myself up, I aimed the gun at the person and shot three times – open fire, protocol. Coughing, I stood up straight and glanced behind me. Something seemed out of place. But having had explosive parachutes come in just minutes before, everything was out of place. The sick feeling I had on the hovercraft returned, as I searched for Prim. I found her, kneeling over a whimpering body, not too far away. I turned away letting her do her job when it hit me – some of those bombes hadn't exploded, they were still in one piece. I looked up, checking the skies and seeing the hovercrafts that released the bombs.

And more were falling.

I screamed at Prim, but her attention was elsewhere. I ignored whatever she was looking at and screamed her name again. She began to say something, but she was cut off by a bomb going off. She looked away, frightened, and I called her name one more time, finally gaining her attention. She looked at me, and I motioned for her to come to me. Her eyes becoming big, she glanced at her patient and got up, running in my direction. I dropped my gun and shoved the Capitol people down, my only priority getting my girlfriend under me before more bombs went off. "Get down!" I heard others shouting, but Prim was so close, and I could tell she was running as fast as she could. "Get down!" they kept shouting at me, but I couldn't Prim had to be with me. She was so close, only about ten yards away. But thirty feet can be all the difference, and with the luck we had, Prim tripped and fell forward. She looked up, her nose now bloody, and looked back.

For a moment, time stood still. She looked at me, holding my gaze, until she was swallowed in flames.

*.*.*.*.*

_Capitol of Panem_

_8:22 pm_

_Rory Hawthorne POV_

*.*.*.*.*

I remember running forward, towards her.

I remember screaming, yet not comprehending screams at that moment.

I remember holding her, the pavement still hot from the fire, her body, charred in places and bloody in others.

She was still alive, but barely, and she was crying, screaming in pain.

I wished to God that I could trade places with her, because the pain she was in might be more bearable than mine, but that thought wasn't fair to Prim. Her cries had quieted now, and she was fading, so I grabbed her head and leaned over, pressing my head to her bloody chest. Why was it her? "Primmie, please, stay with me. Please Prim. I love you, please don't leave me. I fucking love you, Prim! Primrose, please!"

Prim calmed slightly, and focused her eyes on me. "Don't worry Rory, I'm gonna stick around for a long time. You'll grow to hate me. I promise." she replied weakly, her lips quivering.

She was dying. Oh my God, Primrose Everdeen, my girlfriend, the love of my life was dying.

I cried, harder than I've ever cried. I sobbed into her shirt, balling my hand into a fiston her body, my other gripping hers as we had done on the hovercraft. Her chest was rising and falling, getting slower by the second, and I heard her heart becoming quiet.

"I love you," she told me. "More than I've ever loved anyone."

"More than Buttercup?" I asked.

"Yeah, love. Of course."

"I love you more, Primrose."

"I love you most, Hawthorne."

It was weaker now, her voice turning into a whisper at the end.

"God Prim, please don't leave me. Please don't fucking leave me!" I cried. Her chest ceased to move, and I knew she was dead. I sat there for a moment, my head on her chest, my hand holding her limp one. "Shit Prim, looks like you've gone and died on me, now." I whispered.

After an infinity, I sat up. I looked at her, and to me, she was still perfect. I leaned down and kissed her face – forehead, nose, lips, cheek. I wiped the wetness off her face, tears clinging to my thumbs where I wiped them off her cheeks.

I stood, staring at her.

Then I pressed three fingers to my lips, held them towards her, and walked back onto the hovercraft, knowing that they would collect and identify bodies later.

*.*.*.*.*

**A/N: How'd you like it? Good, I hope? Please review, I appreciate it greatly! It's like 3:00 AM right now because I refused to sleep before I finished this, so I hope you enjoy this greatly! I would like you dedicate this to Suzanne Collins, as she gave me the opportunity to create what I think is a fairly good story, wouldn't you agree? Nahh, don't worry, I know it's crap. But please tell me if I should further continue this piece of 'literary' work. LLLOOOLLL**

**Well, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day/night/life! :)**


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